This invention relates to a pellet handling device which can dispense pellets from a bulk supply source without the pellets becoming jammed therein. More particularly, it relates to a pellet dispensing apparatus which employs a unique pellet plate or rotor member so that it can accommodate pieces of the tablet thereby preventing the pieces from becoming jammed with the pellets as the pellet plate rotates to dispense them through a discharge passage.
Chemical pellet dispensing devices of the type concerned with in this invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,785,525; 4,235,849; and 4,662,538, the latter patent being commonly assigned. The use of a metering or pellet plate for presenting pellets through an aperture in a base plate is commonly used in this particular art. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,785,525 and 4,235,849 are representative of these types of apparatus. The use of the rotating metering plate poses problems as pieces of pellets can become lodged with full-sized pellets in the metering plate orifice and thus can cause a jamming of the pellets. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,538 a specially designed rotor assembly is presented which in effect carries the pellet over the floor of the base plate thus reducing the risk of tablet pieces from becoming jammed in the rotating metering plate.
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a pellet dispensing apparatus which reduces the incidence of pellets becoming jammed in the pellet dispenser.
It is another advantage of this invention to provide a pellet dispensing apparatus which not only can accommodate broken pieces of tablet but also assures that only a single pellet is dispensed from a pellet carrying passage.
Still another advantage of this invention is a pellet dispensing apparatus which has a few number of parts and can be accommodated in various types of pellet dispensing apparatus.
It is yet another advantage of this invention to provide a pellet dispensing apparatus in which the components are easily moldable from plastic materials and thus is cost effective.
Other advantages of this invention are a pellet dispensing apparatus wherein the pellet plate can have various numbers and sizes of pellet passages, will allow for a second pellet to be ejected from the pellet plate and can be used with various containers for the pellets.